BY JOHN DECOSTE
[email protected]
NovaNewsNow.com
When it comes to recruiting for the 2008 season and beyond, the Acadia football Axemen are already well ahead of the game.
Axemen head coach Jeff Cummins announced the names last week of 26 recruits that have committed already to Acadia for this fall.
While the list of players appears large, assistant coach Josh Lambert says, “it’s actually an average recruiting class. Two years ago, we ended up with around 45 recruits. This year, we’ll probably have close to 40 before we’re done.”
The Axemen will carry close to 90 players during the season, 45 of which will dress for games. At the same time, Lambert says, “there’s a whole ‘scout team’ of players we’re developing for the future. You can’t ever have too many when it comes to recruiting.”
The 2008 recruiting class so far appears to be deep and talented, with lots of potential for the future.
“I believe we have a good crew of young talent that will help us continue our pursuit of
a national championship,” Cummins said in an April 14 release.
“We have the two best players in New Brunswick locked up, a multi-talented young quarterback along with a host of hungry young players who want to play on the best surface in Canada at the number one undergraduate school in Canada.
“With our current roster and this new recruiting class, we expect big things over the next three to four years,” he said.
Clusters of talent
Lambert suggested last week that in their recruiting, he and Cummins have tried to attract groups of players from the same high school or junior programs, players who are used to each other’s talents and playing as teammates.
The new class of recruits includes four players from the Huronia Stallions of the Ontario Varsity Football League, a 19-and-under provincial all-star rep league that plays its games in the summer.
Heading the list is Kyle Graves, a highly-regarded 6’3”, 195-pound quarterback from Barrie, Ont. who will likely start for the Axemen before he’s done at Acadia.
Huronia teammates include fullback Brett Haenni, a 6’1”, 220-pounder who was the OVFL Eastern MVP in 2007, and offensive linemen Tyler Honeywood and Derek Oliver.
The Axemen have also recruited a pair of players from the Sudbury Northerners of the OVFL: Zach Azzola, a 6’4”, 285-pound O-lineman and Jordyn Andric, a 6’2 receiver.
Jeremy Blanchard, a 6’3”, 250-pound D-lineman, and receiver/defensive back Jordan Linnen both hail from Frank Hurt Secondary in Surrey, B.C.
The two New Brunswickers, both of whom come highly regarded, are D-lineman Jake Thomas and linebacker Ed McNally, both high school conference MVPs in 2007.
Thomas, a younger brother of former Axemen all-Canadian Josh Thomas, is a 6’2”, 225-pound defensive end who resembles his brother physically and athletically.
McNally, whose father is a cousin of Acadia coach Dan McNally, is an impact linebacker with what the Acadia coaches say is a bright AUFC future.
The Axemen also have a contingent from Citadel High in Halifax, the NSSAF Tier 1 runners-up in 2007, including receivers Pat Festeryga and Ronald Brown and D-lineman Terry Vaughan, a grandson of Axemen alumnus Terry Hennigar of Wolfville.
Festeryga was an NSSAF Tier 1 all-star in 2007, as were O-linemen Alex Burris of CEC in Truro and Mark Hynes of Sackville High and linebacker Curtis Teed of CEC, also among the Axemen recruits. Another linebacker recruit, Steve Persa of Aurora, Ont., was his league’s Defensive MVP last season.
Also on the list is Conor Cox, a 6’2”, 195-pound receiver who played the past two seasons for Avon View in Windsor and was an NSSAF Tier 2 all-star in 2007.
So far, Cox is the only Valley player who has committed to Acadia, though Lambert confirmed the Axemen are still talking with a pair of talented local athletes: Cox’s Avon View teammate Ian Armour as well as Marco Visentin from NKEC.
The Axemen lose just three impact players this year – D-lineman Trumaine Thomas, receiver Anthony Mayes and fullback Chris DeBenedet – though both Cummins and Lambert expect O-lineman Adam Rogers to be selected in the upcoming CFL draft.
BY JOHN DECOSTE
[email protected]
NovaNewsNow.com
When it comes to recruiting for the 2008 season and beyond, the Acadia football Axemen are already well ahead of the game.
Axemen head coach Jeff Cummins announced the names last week of 26 recruits that have committed already to Acadia for this fall.
While the list of players appears large, assistant coach Josh Lambert says, “it’s actually an average recruiting class. Two years ago, we ended up with around 45 recruits. This year, we’ll probably have close to 40 before we’re done.”
The Axemen will carry close to 90 players during the season, 45 of which will dress for games. At the same time, Lambert says, “there’s a whole ‘scout team’ of players we’re developing for the future. You can’t ever have too many when it comes to recruiting.”
The 2008 recruiting class so far appears to be deep and talented, with lots of potential for the future.
“I believe we have a good crew of young talent that will help us continue our pursuit of
a national championship,” Cummins said in an April 14 release.
“We have the two best players in New Brunswick locked up, a multi-talented young quarterback along with a host of hungry young players who want to play on the best surface in Canada at the number one undergraduate school in Canada.
“With our current roster and this new recruiting class, we expect big things over the next three to four years,” he said.
Clusters of talent
Lambert suggested last week that in their recruiting, he and Cummins have tried to attract groups of players from the same high school or junior programs, players who are used to each other’s talents and playing as teammates.
The new class of recruits includes four players from the Huronia Stallions of the Ontario Varsity Football League, a 19-and-under provincial all-star rep league that plays its games in the summer.
Heading the list is Kyle Graves, a highly-regarded 6’3”, 195-pound quarterback from Barrie, Ont. who will likely start for the Axemen before he’s done at Acadia.
Huronia teammates include fullback Brett Haenni, a 6’1”, 220-pounder who was the OVFL Eastern MVP in 2007, and offensive linemen Tyler Honeywood and Derek Oliver.
The Axemen have also recruited a pair of players from the Sudbury Northerners of the OVFL: Zach Azzola, a 6’4”, 285-pound O-lineman and Jordyn Andric, a 6’2 receiver.
Jeremy Blanchard, a 6’3”, 250-pound D-lineman, and receiver/defensive back Jordan Linnen both hail from Frank Hurt Secondary in Surrey, B.C.
The two New Brunswickers, both of whom come highly regarded, are D-lineman Jake Thomas and linebacker Ed McNally, both high school conference MVPs in 2007.
Thomas, a younger brother of former Axemen all-Canadian Josh Thomas, is a 6’2”, 225-pound defensive end who resembles his brother physically and athletically.
McNally, whose father is a cousin of Acadia coach Dan McNally, is an impact linebacker with what the Acadia coaches say is a bright AUFC future.
The Axemen also have a contingent from Citadel High in Halifax, the NSSAF Tier 1 runners-up in 2007, including receivers Pat Festeryga and Ronald Brown and D-lineman Terry Vaughan, a grandson of Axemen alumnus Terry Hennigar of Wolfville.
Festeryga was an NSSAF Tier 1 all-star in 2007, as were O-linemen Alex Burris of CEC in Truro and Mark Hynes of Sackville High and linebacker Curtis Teed of CEC, also among the Axemen recruits. Another linebacker recruit, Steve Persa of Aurora, Ont., was his league’s Defensive MVP last season.
Also on the list is Conor Cox, a 6’2”, 195-pound receiver who played the past two seasons for Avon View in Windsor and was an NSSAF Tier 2 all-star in 2007.
So far, Cox is the only Valley player who has committed to Acadia, though Lambert confirmed the Axemen are still talking with a pair of talented local athletes: Cox’s Avon View teammate Ian Armour as well as Marco Visentin from NKEC.
The Axemen lose just three impact players this year – D-lineman Trumaine Thomas, receiver Anthony Mayes and fullback Chris DeBenedet – though both Cummins and Lambert expect O-lineman Adam Rogers to be selected in the upcoming CFL draft.
